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Sales For Orange County Based 'Electric Bike Company' On The Rise During Pandemic

NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) -- Demand for an Orange County-based e-bike company has been skyrocketing during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We've hired about four times more than what we started the year with," said Sean Lupton-Smith of Electric Bike Company. "COVID-19 has in fact, almost helped our business because more people want to get outside. They want to get exercise. They want to go together as a family."

Instead of shutting down at the start of the pandemic nearly six months ago, Lupton-Smith's team decided to have everyone work separate eight-hour shifts around the clock.

Pre-coronavirus, he built and sold 50 bikes each week. Now, he's building, packing and shipping 150 custom electric bicycles per week.

Customers can design bikes to suit their personality, including custom a drive train, fork type, fenders, trim, rims, seat and grips, tires, anti-theft alarm, and more.

Electric Bike Company
Screen grab from Electric Bike Company website

"We are the only major brand that actually builds their bikes here in the United States," Lupton-Smith said.

Electric Bike Company's engineers build batteries from scratch, mechanics hand-cut and mold fenders and chain guards from wood, and local Orange County painters customize the frames.

Parts for the bicycles are sourced from 11 different countries and made completely in the U.S., he said.

Lupton-Smith opened a showroom for his electric bikes on July 4 in Huntington Beach, a day where he got to celebrate American freedoms and a business success story.

"It was just something wonderful being in America on the Fourth of July, struggling through COVID-19, opening retail," Lupton-Smith said. "The country's just amazing in my opinion."

Electric Bike Company's website makes this customer promise:

"Our business model is to provide a bike worth $5,000 to you from our factory around $2,000."

For more information, visit www.electricbikecompany.com or call 949-264-4080.

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